🛦 UD military contract: The university has won a $98.5 million Air Force contract for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work.
🎒 School year nears: The first day of school is rapidly approaching. Here’s when some local schools have start dates.
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Wrongful death lawsuit in Beavercreek Walmart shooting voluntarily dismissed
More than a decade after a Beavercreek police officer shot and killed a customer inside Walmart, a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of John Crawford III was voluntarily dismissed.
• Background: John Crawford III, a 22-year-old Fairfield resident, was shot to death Aug. 5, 2014, by Beavercreek police officer Sean Williams after a 911 caller told dispatchers a Black man was holding a rifle and appeared to be loading it and was waving it near people, including children.
Crawford later was determined to be carrying a Crosman MK-177 BB/pellet rifle he found unboxed on a store shelf.
• Lawsuit dismissed: Dayton attorney Michael Wright, who represented Crawford’s parents and two children, voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Walmart and all remaining defendants.
Originally, the family believed responsibility for the shooting remained with Walmart and the city of Beavercreek.
• Settled out of court? It is not clear whether the dismissal means a settlement has been reached between the family and Walmart. The city of Beavercreek in 2020 reached a $1.7 million settlement agreement with the Crawford family.
University of Dayton awarded huge $98M contract for surveillance tech work for Air Force
The University of Dayton Research Institute will refine intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology for the Air Force through a new $98.5 million contract.
• The contract: UDRI, one of the Dayton area’s biggest and busiest defense contractors, received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for ISR and “counter-targeting enhancement research.”
• ISR work: They conduct remote sensing research focused mostly on radio frequency and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors.
“However, our expert researchers also undertake important work in radar systems and components; processing, detection, and data products; Electro-Optics (EO); LADAR; target phenomenology; electromagnetic effects and environment; and other related areas,” the university says on its web site.
• Timeframe: Work will be performed in Dayton, and is expected to be completed July 31, 2030.
What to know today
• One big takeaway: It’s still summer, but the first day of school is just around the corner. Here’s when some local schools have start dates.
• Big move of the day: Numerous arts organizations across the Southwest Ohio region will receive grants from the Ohio Arts Council.
• Tip of the day: Kings Island has announced a brand-new experience coming to this year’s Halloween Haunt event based on the popular horror movie franchise “The Conjuring.”
• High school football: The journey to Canton started yesterday for more than 700 high school football programs across the state of Ohio, and yesterday also marked the start of practice for most fall sports teams.
• Vote: Choose among 16 of the area’s most talented new and emerging artists in the 2025 Art in the City contest.
• Community Gem: Ella Guillard is a state-licensed, board certified music therapist who serves as an activity therapist that works with young children and teens in crisis. Do you know someone like this in your community? Follow this link to nominate them.
• Thing to do: The Dayton Art Institute’s 54th Oktoberfest celebration will take place Sept. 26-28. New details revealed.
• Athlete of the week: Lauren Jessup-Aiken. This Centerville grad was an All-American and All-Ohio sprinter in track. She was also named Class of 2025 outstanding student by the Centerville Education Foundation.
• Photo of the day: After changing ownership, Sweet Home Bakery in Huber Heights now offers Turkish and American desserts with a Russian influence. See more photos and read the full story from reporter Natalie Jones.
